-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- What has the popular Pope Francis done now ?

A woman in Argentina says the pope called her Monday and told her she could receive Communion , despite being married to a divorced man , reports say . According to the woman and her husband , the pope allegedly said , `` There are some priests who are more papist than the pope '' -- referring to the parish priest who refused to give Communion to the woman .

The Vatican initially refused to comment , but CNN received confirmation of the phone call from a Vatican press office spokesman on Wednesday . On Thursday , the Vatican released a statement responding to the media attention saying the content of the pope 's personal phone calls `` can not be confirmed as reliable , and is a source of misunderstanding and confusion . ''

The defensiveness of the pope 's PR handlers hints of a cleanup . It 's true that Pope Francis has earned the nickname the `` cold-calling pope '' for his practice of picking up the phone and calling everyday folks -LRB- although there has been at least one hoax about a papal phone call -RRB- .

The story did , however , start with a Facebook post and went from Argentina to Italy to England before being picked up by U.S. news agencies . That 's plenty of opportunity for misinterpretation .

If the pope were to counsel a Catholic in this way , it would be significant . The Catholic Church officially teaches that marriage is for life and that couples who divorce are still married in the eyes of the church unless they receive an annulment -- a process that literally nullifies the first marriage . -LRB- Reports do not indicate whether the man 's first marriage was annulled , but it 's unlikely since the couple say they were married civilly . -RRB- The church 's position is based on Jesus ' teachings in the Bible equating marriage after divorce with adultery .

Conservative Catholics , many of whom have been less than thrilled with the new pope during the first year of his papacy , are not happy with the latest news . One Catholic blogger insists the story must not be true . Of course , as the representative of the magisterium -LRB- or teaching authority -RRB- of the church , the pope is expected to toe the party line on church teaching -- especially in public . And he should have the media savvy to know that private conversations often go viral .

On the other hand , more liberal Catholics are hopeful , given speculation that pastoral practices toward divorced and remarried Catholics may change after a worldwide meeting of bishops in October .

German bishops , especially Cardinal Walter Kasper , have long lobbied for relaxing the rules that bar Catholics in so-called `` irregular '' marriages from the sacraments . In the United States , the rule -- much like the one against artificial birth control -- is routinely ignored by most Catholics .

Despite all the brouhaha , this phone conversation was actually a private one , between `` Father Bergoglio '' -- as the pope allegedly identified himself -- and the woman . He also would n't be the first Catholic priest to privately tell a divorced person to go ahead and receive Communion . Even if he is the pope , such a private conversation does not automatically change centuries of church teaching , as the most recent Vatican statement points out .

Yet it 's true that the pope has also publicly called for more pastoral sensitivity and inclusiveness not only toward the divorced and remarried , but also toward gay and lesbian Catholics , single parents and others . There 's a reason his new book is called `` The Church of Mercy . ''

It 's too early to tell if this is the pope 's way of asserting his position on a possible change in pastoral practice or even church teaching . Still , it could be a lot more significant than his more symbolic gestures , such as eschewing red shoes and letting kids ride in the popemobile .

Since it 's the Easter season , I 'll remain hopeful .

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Reports that Pope Francis told woman married to divorced man that taking Communion OK

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Heidi Schlumpf : Vatican backing away , but if true , pope may signal softening on divorce rule

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Some prelates have lobbied to relax rules barring divorced from sacraments

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Schlumpf : Private conversation with Pope does n't automatically change church teaching